Students Analyze Scientific Results in Preparation for Honeywell Discovery Day in the Fall
After filling in the last page of their field notebooks and accepting certificates of completion, students left the 2007 Honeywell Summer Science Week at the MOST with a new found knowledge and understanding of Onondaga Lake’s watershed and how people, companies and the environment affect water quality in Onondaga County.
“I learned a lot about all of the stuff I didn’t know existed along Onondaga Lake like the Tully Mud Boils,” said Lauren Shepherd, a student from West Genesee Middle School. “I thought it was cool to see the waste water treatment plant. I drive by it all of the time and you never really see what happens inside.”
Every participant graduated as a “MOST Associate,” giving each student a year of free access to the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology (MOST), and received an invitation to return to the MOST on September 22 for Honeywell Discovery Day to present conclusions about their water sampling results and experiments.
SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry (SUNY-ESF) Graduate Student Sarah Darkwa (pictured above) welcomed students from the Syracuse City, West Genesee Central, and Solvay Union Free school districts and the Dunbar Center.
Students boarded the Emita II on the Seneca River and heard Honeywell Syracuse Program Director John McAuliffe, Dr. Peter Black of SUNY-ESF (pictured on the right), and Hydrogeologist and Geologist Dr. William Kappel discuss Onondaga Lake’s history, geographic landscape and water quality.
During the boat cruise, students received an overview about the tools and devices they would be using throughout the week. Each student was given a personal compass to take home at the end of the week.
On Monday, students visited the Heiberg Memorial Forest and SUNY-ESF Field Station in Tully to complete surface water quality testing and study the area’s landscape and geology with SUNY-ESF Graduate Student Sarah Darkwa (pictured above on the left), and Dr. Peter Black of SUNY-ESF (pictured above on the right), and Syracuse University Professor and MOST Exhibits Project Manager Dr. Peter Plumley (pictured in the third photo above).
Throughout the week, students visited multiple locations in the Tully Valley and along Onondaga Creek to collect water samples and measure water width, depth, velocity, temperature, PH and area wind speed.
While exploring Onondaga Creek, students caught and identified 20 species of water born macroinvertebrates (water bugs) and other wildlife indigenous to Central New York, such as a non-poisonous garter snake.
On Wednesday, students learned how to use GPS units and went on a geocaching exploration.
Activities also included touring the Syracuse University’s Center for Environmental Systems Engineering Lab, Onondaga County’s Metropolitan Syracuse Wastewater Treatment Plant (Metro), Honeywell’s Willis Avenue Groundwater Treatment Plant and the Salt Museum.
For more photos from the Honeywell Summer Science Week at the MOST and information about the Onondaga Lake Cleanup, visit www.onondaga-lake-initiatives.com.